


Gripped by Fate

by Yamino_Yama



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Flash Fic, Fortune Telling, Hopeful Ending, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:06:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27250162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yamino_Yama/pseuds/Yamino_Yama
Summary: Pressured by Shorter, Ash pays a visit to a mysterious fortune teller. He expects to hear obscurities and lies, convinced no one can read him, much less the future, but a small part of him begins to concede with news of someone who will spark something in him.
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji
Comments: 6
Kudos: 58





	Gripped by Fate

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! It's been a long while, but I'm back with more Banana Fish ^^ This is a short piece that I thought up on a whim, but still decided to jot and post to get back into the swing of things. To all my readers, new and old, thank you for so much for checking this out. I hope you enjoy! See you with the next one ^_~ (As always, kudos and comments appreciated <3)

Ash cast a look that could kill over his shoulder at Shorter, but his friend just grinned and continued to give him a shove toward the door of a rather shady looking establishment.

“You'll thank me later,” Shorter insisted. “This is the home of the best fortune teller in the country.”

Ash clicked his tongue, dubious. “Who says?”

Shorter hesitated then laughed off the question. “Word of mouth is hard to track, right? All that matters is that _someone_ said it and that means that someone had a good reading. Heck, _I_ was read like an open book last time I came here.”

“Did they say you'd get a new haircut or something?”

Shorter grasped Ash's shoulders and gave him a shake. “Funny. Anyone could guess that. They told me I'd lose something important, something I couldn't replace, and then my rarest baseball card went missing. It was mint, autographed and everything.” He sighed and Ash watched as he hung his head. “That fortune was a legit warning I should've taken seriously.”

“Everyone loses things sometimes, Shorter. Just a coincidence.”

“No,” Shorter insisted, shaking his head. “They went on to say that it was valuable, although made of paper and rather old.”

Ash sighed too, not because of Shorter's misfortune, but because of the misfortune _he_ felt not seeing any way out of having to listen to some stranger make up a sob story for him. Would they take a look at his worn watch and guess he'd miss an appointment when it inevitably ran slow? Maybe that time would slip away from him when the tattered handle broke and landed the antique trinket in the gutter? Ash bet that Shorter was flaunting that rare baseball card right outside the shop's window, and this so-called wise one noticed it fall to the pavement when Shorter tried to slip it into his pocket before coming in. It wasn't hard to sound like you knew what you were talking about if you were observant enough. Everyone revealed their secrets in words or actions, with just a little slip.

But Shorter wouldn't take 'no' for an answer and let him go home. There was no way out.

“Fine, I'll go in. Quit shoving.”

Shorter smiled and almost made Ash feel like he'd made the right choice. Almost.

“Just wait out here and let me get this over with.”

“Great.” Shorter waved. “Let me know if you're told that you're going to be a millionaire tomorrow.”

The door dinged as Ash entered, but no one approached. Curtains draped over the windows made the place dusky and shelves of merchandise situated so close together that they felt like they were pressing in on either side of him made Ash feel claustrophobic. It didn't help that the air was thick with dust and the stifling scent of lavender candles. Despite how uncomfortable he felt, Ash remained calm, not flinching when he sensed someone tiptoeing behind him.

He whipped around and saw a shrouded figure, their face hidden in shadow.

On guard, but not sensing a threat, Ash stood still as the person presumably looked him over. It took the moment to notice their hands, although dry, were devoid of many wrinkles. He'd guess he was dealing with someone middle-aged at the oldest.

“You've had a rough life,” they said, “a pitiable one due to being dragged about by circumstance.”

Ash narrowed his his eyes, not daring to let his surprise show. As self-effacing as it seemed, the soft voice felt like it was probing him, trying to find a weak spot in his psyche so it could pry its way inside. Ash remained silent.

“But a light will spark in you when someone meets your eye,” they continued, “set your soul aflame, and that fire won't burn out even when darkness tries to snuff it out.”

_This is bullshit._ Ash kept telling himself that, but the fortune teller's words themselves already seemed to lit something in him, revitalizing something he thought he'd never feel again – hope.

Choking down pride, Ash bit the bait. “And how soon will I meet this someone?” he asked. “Where?”

The fortune teller laughed, a chortle akin to a cat's wheezing, and the cautious side of Ash could just imagine a tail waving gleefully from the person as they readied to unsheathe their claws.

“Soon,” they finally answered. “And not far from here. Rather than you, _that_ person will be the one far from home.”

Ash scoffed, skepticism rapidly rooting itself in him again. “It isn't often I come across a foreign stranger. It all sounds a bit too much like a book or movie plot line.”

“Reality births fiction. Nothing is impossible. Remember that.”

The person moved to return to the back of the shop. “Where are you going?” Ash called. “Was that it? Don't I owe you anything?”

“Leave how ever much you feel's fit on the counter. And take the trinket you find there with you?”

Ash went to the counter. A lot of stuff was clustered on top of it, but only one thing rested in center of the mess – a keychain of a rabbit grinning as it stood with its front paws spread wide, like it was welcoming the rising sun behind it.

Even with dim lighting, Ash could make out the details. He held it up and stared as it seemingly glowed in the dark. Without another thought, he sank the keychain in his right pocket and pulled his wallet from the left, laying down a couple crumpled ten dollar bills. A part of him whispered that the amount was too generous; another screamed it wasn't enough, but whatever. Ash shrugged to himself and exited, giving the inquisitive Shorter who'd waited on him curt answers about his visit while his mind wondered all the way home.

*

Later, Ash traced the minute coasting of the clouds, tinged in the gold rays of the sunset.

He took out his rabbit keychain and let the dying light caress it. Ash didn't know if it was meant to be a clue or a catalyst to the future the fortune teller saw for him, but somehow the grinning bunny's joy was catching.

Until night chased the rays away, Ash smiled with it.

END


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